Late goal by Barrett lifts Souhegan field hockey past Portsmouth (video)

AMHERST - Ella Barrett thought the worst-case scenario would be that her shot would get stopped and maybe a rebound would come back to her.

Instead, the slow roller trickled into the goal, surprising everyone, including Barrett.

The goal gave the Souhegan High School field hockey team a 2-1 lead over Portsmouth with just 1:11 remaining, and the Sabers would survive a last-second penalty corner by the Clippers to hang on for the win.

"Honestly, I thought it was going to go right into (the goalie's) pads and right back to me," Barrett said. "It went through her legs and in. It was the perfect speed and I hit it perfectly. It surprised me a little bit."

It was the second goal of the game for Barrett, who gave Souhegan (8-0, No. 6 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) the lead midway through the second quarter, but had been stifled for most of the second half by Portsmouth's defense.

"They don’t have to be pretty, they just have to count," Souhegan coach Kelli Braley said. "We talked a lot about the need to use a small ball game inside the circle with them because we know they pack the circle. You’re not going to have time to get a big ripper of a shot off.

"They shut (Barrett) down quite a bit and it was a great battle in the middle of the field with some great players. It always feels good to come out on top, but I was proud of the way everybody pushed through and found another way to win."

McKenzie Berry and Annika Madeja each had an assist for the Sabers and Annie Raduazzo made nine saves, including two on the final  corner by Portsmouth (8-2, No. 7).

"It’s frustrating," Portsmouth coach Sara Carpenter said. "This was probably their best collective game of field hockey. Obviously, Souhegan is a phenomenal opponent, they always are. Things didn’t go our way on the offensive end. Defensively, I thought we played really, really well."

Mia Edwards had the goal for the Clippers, as she scored off an assist from Sam Ruel on a corner with 1:22 left in the first half to tie the game. That was the last of five consecutive corners for Portsmouth to end the half and the Clippers finished the game with 10 total, including two at the end of the third quarter with no time remaining.

"A few defensive breakdowns can be very costly against Portsmouth," Braley said. "Once they get inside their offensive zone, they tend to stay there. We had that series of three or four corners in a row, might have been (more). That was definitely the scariest part of the game for me, because that’s where they can be so deadly."

After the teams traded opportunities in the first quarter, Souhegan opened the second with a pair of corners, but Samara Buck (four saves) came up with a save on each one. Barrett got a shot through from the top of the circle with 8:51 left in the first half to give the Sabers the 1-0 lead, but Portsmouth came back strong after that.

The Clippers kept the ball in Souhegan's end for most of the final eight minutes of the half and finally broke through on the goal by Edwards.

That momentum didn't carry over to the second half, as the Sabers kept the pressure on the Portsmouth defense. While the ball may have been in the Clippers' end, they were able to keep Souhegan from getting many scoring chances, as they focused on keeping the ball away from Barrett and Chloe Luongo.

"Mia helped slow (Barrett) down, but collectively, they knew where she was and what they needed to do," Carpenter said. "They were the two that we needed to try to stop. (Luongo) is just so fast. They have many players that are faster than ours, so we just did our best to slow them down so the rest of the defense could get back and help out."

Souhegan's speed had an affect on Portsmouth's attempts in transition, as the Sabers, led by Sophia Merenda and Brielle Berube, were able to get back whenever it looked like the Clippers might have an opportunity at a break.

But at the end of the third quarter, Portsmouth was able to get into the circle and had a chance to take the lead with time running out, getting two corners. Raduazzo made a pair of saves to keep it a 1-1 game going into the fourth.

Souhegan again kept the pressure on for most of the final quarter before getting Barrett's winning goal with 1:11 left to play. Then it was up to the corner defense to preserve the win.

"All around, that was just a fantastic game," Braley said. "I was really proud of the way my girls played. They were together, mostly composed throughout, and to finish with under two minutes left is great."